The Beer Nut: Pyramid stacked with flavor

Beers made by Pyramid Brewing Company, which has alehouses in California, Oregon and its native Washington state, are now available in Massachusetts for the first time.

By Norman Miller/DAILY NEWS STAFF

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Norman Miller/DAILY NEWS STAFF

Posted Aug. 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 22, 2012 at 10:16 PM

By Norman Miller/DAILY NEWS STAFF

Posted Aug. 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 22, 2012 at 10:16 PM

» Social News

One of the oldest breweries in the Pacific Northwest has finally made its way to the East Coast.

Pyramid Brewing Company, which has alehouses in California, Oregon and its native Washington state, is now available in Massachusetts for the first time.

The brewery, which began in 1984, was purchased by the Magic Hat Brewing Company of Vermont in 2007, and both companies were purchased by North American Brewers, a corporation that owns several breweries and is based in New York.

Because of that partnership, we here in the Bay State can now get Pyramid beers for the first time.

Pyramid was founded in 1984 as the Hart Brewing Company by Beth Hartwell in Kalama, Wash. The brewery, which brewed Pyramid ales, quickly began growing, and in 1996, a group of investors in Seattle purchased the brewery, and that same year they changed the name to Pyramid.

Pyramid has received many accolades over the years, including being named the mid-size Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Fest in Colorado in 2008.

The brewery brews a solid lineup of what I call daily drinkers. Daily drinkers are beers that aren't overly complex or high in alcohol. Rather, they're just good tasting and often refreshing beers. As a beer drinker, you can't survive on imperial India pale ales or high-alcohol Belgian quads every day of the week.

Currently, Massachusetts stores only receive three out of the four year-round Pyramid beers. The Outburst, and 8.5 percent alcohol by volume double IPA, is not distributed here yet.

However, the other three beers are, and they are all easy drinking, solid beers.

The best is the Hefeweizen, a solid American interpretation of a the German style. Unlike it's German counterparts, the Pyramid Hefeweizen does not have a strong banana or clove flavor. But, that's OK, because the wheaty/bready flavor, with a little yeast taste, is very refreshing.

At 5.2 percent alcohol, it's a good beer, and a great beer to drink during the summer. It is also a past winner of a gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest for the best American-style Hefeweizen.

Sticking to refreshing beers, Pyramid also brews the Apricot Wheat, which is billed as the first apricot wheat beer brewed in the U.S. If you like apricots, this is a beer for you. The aroma of what smells like fresh apricots hits you right when you start pouring the beer into a glass.

I'm not sure if it's the same recipe, but it has many of the same characteristics as the Hefeweizen, with the addition of apricot flavor. It really goes down easy on a hot day.

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The Thunderhead IPA is a decent IPA. The bitterness is not over the top, but the malt backbone is lacking slightly. If the beer had a bit more body, this would be really good. As is, it is still not a bad beer. Definitely worth picking up and giving it a try.

Pyramid also has a full lineup of seasonal beers.

The fall beer is the Oktoberfest, described as an "autumn lager." It comes in at a relatively hefty 6.7 percent ABV for an Oktoberfest-style lager, but it has the caramel malt flavors you would expect.

The winter seasonal is the Snow Cap Ale, a beer brewed with both chocolate and caramel malt, giving it a full-body with hints of chocolate in the flavor. It is also the strongest of the Pyramid seasonals, coming in at nearly 8 percent ABV.

The spring beer is the Discord, a dry-hopped IPA, and the summer beer is the Curve Ball Blonde, a refreshing style for hot weather.

Pyramid beers are widely available and can be found at a majority of liquor stores west of I-495.